Saturday, July 31, 2010

I've been racing before, but never out on the open streets...

Not like these fellas...  competing for a cop's attention:

http://thatwillbuffout.com/2010/07/30/funny-car-photos-corvette-benz-ticket/

Friday, July 30, 2010

What would you do? #152 - Facing resistance on the flop and turn

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN): $51.60
SB: $54.10 - 15/10 - 10 hands, so no legit history
BB: $65.55
UTG: $53.00
UTG+1: $8.50
MP: $19.00
CO: $54.10

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with Qs Qh
4 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, SB calls $1.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($3.50) 4h 8d 6h (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2.50, SB raises to $5, Hero calls $2.50

Turn: ($13.50) As (2 players)
SB bets $9.75, Hero requests TIME, Hero ???

Click to see results


Hero folds
I feel like if he's not already ahead of me with a flopped set, he could have easily been semi-bluffing with 2 overs and hit an Ace. It also feels like an Ace is a terrible "bluff" card in this spot, given the PF action. I can easily show up with AK, AQ.

Final Pot: $13.50
SB wins $12.85
(Rake: $0.65)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

What would you do? #151 - Facing flop shove holding overpair KK in 3 way pot

Again, I had one of those nights where I was on a roller coaster. I was getting my opponents into spots where I was very much +EV, but I could not seem to get the cards to cooperate. At one point, I think I was down 3 buy ins, but I somehow managed to overcome and win THREE (3) WHOPPING BBs!!!! Yes, that's $1.50!!! BOOYAH! To be honest, though, given how I ran, I feel like I had a major win last night.

There was one Argentinian dude who kept pushing everything he had - draws, hands, etc. and hitting it even when behind. The cards would not reciprocate with me as far as luck; he was mostly responsible for the early deficit. The second hand I played against him, I got it all in AA vs. his AK (and I held). I should have treasured that, because I would go on to get a set all in on the flop vs. his flush draw and he turned it. I would hit an OESFD vs. his flopped set - all in again, and turn the flush but the river would pair the board. Those were the 3 notable hands that I remember, but there was other nonsense like him hitting two pair against my overpair, and other BS. It just sucked and was frustrating.

Anyway, this HH goes right to the top of the heap.  This hand took place last night...  related to all the HHs that I've been throwing on here showing a similar pattern of flatting a 3bet and getting wild action for stacks on the flop / turn / river.

Go ahead & let the flames begin!

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $46.45
UTG: $20.95
UTG+1: $50.75
Hero (UTG+2): $115.05 - I'm showing an 18/15 / 4.8% 3bet / 45% steal / 1.6 AF / 138 hands at the table
MP1: $34.25
MP2: $64.05
CO: $50.00
BTN: $53.20 - 16/9 / 0% steal / 3.7% 3bet / 10 AF / 150 hands
SB: $51.60 - 18/3 / 0% steal / 0% 3bet / 3.0 AF / 44 hands

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+2 with Kd Ks
2 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, 3 folds, BTN calls $1.75, SB raises to $7.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $5.75, BTN calls $5.75
So in 44 hands, the SB has yet to 3bet, which is not a big deal.  The only problem is that he's shown to be a fairly competent player who is choosing an odd spot, SB, to 3bet and/or squeeze.  I decide to take a flop rather than 4bet.  Unfortunately, that gets BTN to flat twice.

I feel like I've seen this before...

Flop: ($23.00) 9s Qh 8d (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $23, SB raises to $44.10 all in, Hero ???
What else can BTN or SB have?  I have to believe that SB has AA at this point - or KK - and BTN has QQ.  Perhaps I have it backwards, but someone hit this flop hard and someone is going to get crushed.  We can rule out the random JT here right?

What would you do?  Be honest and leave a comment PRIOR to clicking the reveal.  I feel like this is a hand that goes to show down, so I don't want an "Of course!  Fold all day every day!" or "Of course!  How can you fold to an obvious bluff?!?!?"  What are the ranges / and am I dominated here or am I making a stupid decision and should be calling off the rest of my stack?


Click to see results


Hero folds, BTN calls $21.10

Turn: ($111.20) Kh (2 players - 1 is all in) - rat bastard!  3rd best hand would be first best!

River: ($111.20) 3s (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $111.20
BTN shows Qd Qc (three of a kind, Queens) - I feel like at this point, it's somewhat of an obvious tell for a player to flat with QQ like that.  He's in no-man's land... akin to JJ, but worse because there's only 2 hands that beat you instead of 3.  I feel like QQ and JJ play hands very similarly, and you can see that pattern evidenced in the past few HHs.
SB shows Ah Ad (a pair of Aces)
BTN wins $108.20
(Rake: $3.00)

What would you do? #150 - holding a terrible underpair

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (MP2): $79.30
CO: $37.60
BTN: $61.90
SB: $50.00 - 18/14 / 44% steal / 2.3% 3bet / 2.4 AF - 404 hands
BB: $50.00
UTG: $36.40
UTG+1: $63.40
UTG+2: $57.15
MP1: $50.00 - 9/7 / 33% steal / 4.3% 3bet / inf AF - 165 hands

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP2 with 3h 3c
3 folds, MP1 raises to $1.75, Hero calls $1.75, 2 folds, SB calls $1.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($5.75) 6d 7h 7c (3 players)
SB checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $3.25, SB raises to $8, MP1 folds, Hero ???
I figure to stab at the pot, which is a fairly good board for an underpair.  Are you calling his raise?  What's your plan for later streets?

Click to see results


Hero calls $4.75
I just can't believe him for wanting to build a pot with MP1 still to act.  If he has a 7 or flopped boat, I think he doesn't want to push MP1 out.  Therefore, this raise wreaks of weakness and altogether bullying.  However, right here, I'm not looking to build a pot with my vulnerable pair.

My plan is to lead again on the turn with a safe non-connecting card and close the door to his potential draw.

Turn: ($21.75) 8s (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks
Crappy card because a semi-bluffed OES just hit TP.  He could have been on a draw and hit a better pair.

River: ($21.75) Th (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks
Since he's content to check down, so am I.

Final Pot: $21.75
Hero shows 3h 3c (two pair, Sevens and Threes)
SB shows Ad Qh (a pair of Sevens)
Hero wins $20.70
(Rake: $1.05)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

What would you do? #149 - Facing a river "shove" holding an overpair KK

Am I being pushed off the best hand here?

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $30.90
UTG: $61.95 - 18 / 15 / 42% steal / 6.9% 3bet / 26% fold to 3bet / 1.3 AF - 801 hands
UTG+1: $19.50
UTG+2: $19.00
MP1: $50.00
Hero (MP2): $153.40
CO: $18.00
BTN: $43.35
SB: $11.95

CO posts a big blind ($0.50)

Pre Flop: ($1.25) Hero is MP2 with Kc Kh
UTG raises to $2, 3 folds, Hero raises to $7.25, 4 folds, UTG calls $5.25

Flop: ($15.75) 5c 6d Qs (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $9, UTG calls $9
I should have probably checked this flop.  What hands are calling PF to a strong 3bet?  I think JJ+ are certainly calling.

Turn: ($33.75) 2h (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks
I am trying to pot control at this point.

River: ($33.75) 9s (2 players)
UTG bets $45.70 all in, Hero requests TIME, Hero folds
Am I wrong to fold this?  I think he puts me on exactly what I have: KK+, and his range is JJ-QQ.  I'm pretty sure he flopped a set.

Final Pot: $33.75
UTG wins $32.10
(Rake: $1.65)

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Just lovin' expressed weakness

Had a nice +3.5 buy in night last night.  Always nice to win money - even better when you're starting to run terribly and then you go on a decent upswing.

If you're interested in hearing what a degenerate dedicated poker player I am, the power at my house has been out since Sunday's storms hit our area.  Yeah, we're one of the homes affected by the "violent DC storms."  Don't worry; we're okay - I'm sure you all were very concerned :-).  Regardless, I'm anxious because I couldn't play online Sunday night - we had a live game (which I couldn't host due to power outages).

Why is this important?  Over at Full Tilt in the online world, we're in the middle of the mid year bonus cycle for Iron Man and I'm trying to recover the $500 that I have waiting for me in bonus money.  See, the more days I miss playing online, the deeper hole I dig for myself in getting those FPPs and releasing the bonus by the 14th of August.  I worked my way down to needing ~150 FPPs for the remaining time, but I want to get the bonus done early and out of the way.

Well, I'm such a dedicated poker player that I went out, left my wife at home (literally in the dark), and found free wifi over at the University of Maryland Shady Grove campus, and got my points in.  I'm such a bad husband - but I figured, what else are we going to do?  We're both going to just fall asleep on the couch trying to fight closing our eyes in the dark talking to each other anyway...  why not make the evening a little productive, right?

Note:  That's exactly the state I found Mrs. Meister in when I got home; asleep and dazed on the couch. 

In other news, I think live play has had the exact intended effect I hoped it would on Mrs. Meister.  The way we work things in our house is that I am the primary financial planner and she takes care of the ancillary activities like vacations, purchases, etc.  She keeps a separate account from our main bank account, so that she knows her exact budget and can plan accordingly.  To me, I couldn't care less how much is in there, because it only affects me when she plans a vacation for our family.  All I know is that there is no spending that comes out of our main account, so I'm blissfully ignorant.  Well, back when we went up to AC at the beginning of July, I made a deal with her that she could stake me the money out of her "special" accounts and I would give her any winnings I earned.  The contrary would hold true; i.e. if I lost, she'd be on the hook for the difference.  For the past few live sessions, though, she's only seen her account grow - and as a result, I think Mrs. Meister has been coming around a TON lately - she's becoming a supportive poker player's wife.  For the first time, she actually suggested that I go & play this Friday over in Delaware...  I think I got her hooked on the new income stream :-).

Anyway, I leave you with this hand.  I think it was a pretty easy hand to play, but I like the way I played it:

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $50.00
MP2: $86.30
CO: $16.00
BTN: $43.70
SB: $66.75 - 18/16 / 54% steal / 9.0% 3bet / 5.3 AF / 81% cbet flop / 230 hands
BB: $75.95
UTG: $48.70
Hero (UTG+1): $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with 4s 4d
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, MP1 calls $1.75, 3 folds, SB raises to $7.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $5.75, 1 fold
With a 9% 3bet, there's no sense in 4betting with a weak hand.  However, I'm not going to let him blow me off of my hand, PF.  I think we're 50/50 here.

Flop: ($17.25) Ah 8c 2s (2 players)
SB bets $5.50, Hero calls $5.50
This is pretty standard, but a very *WEAK* bet here.  HUGE WEAKNESS!  Either he's playing weak to rep strong, or he just wreaks of weakness.

Turn: ($28.25) 5d (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks
I'm not sure whether this is to induce a bluff bet here so he can c/r me off the hand, so I check behind.  This is altogether weird.

River: ($28.25) Kc (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $14.75, SB requests TIME, SB folds
I think by this point, I put him on a hand that beats me, but I've played the part of "afraid of the Ace" long enough.  I want to bet to make sure that he folds and not show down a crappy small pair that beats me.

Final Pot: $28.25
Hero wins $26.85
(Rake: $1.40)

What would you do? #148 - Facing BB 3bet PF shove holding QQ

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $54.75 - 14/12 / 42%steal / 6.2% 3bet / 670 hands
MP2: $52.00
CO: $53.75
BTN: $54.90 - 47/8 / 13% steal / 5% 3bet / 101 hands
SB: $84.35
BB: $72.65 - 11/9 / 50% steal / 5.7% 3bet / 195 hands
UTG: $54.65
Hero (UTG+1): $73.40 - My stats to him were essentially 21/17 / 50% steal / 4% 3bet / 163 hands
UTG+2: $92.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with Qs Qd
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, 1 fold, MP1 calls $1.75, 2 folds, BTN calls $1.75, 1 fold, BB raises to $72.65 all in, Hero requests TIME, Hero ???


Click to see results


3 folds
I feel like I've seen this so often before... Player is looking for a snap call from one of the other players - he's holding AA (mostly) or sometimes KK. Talk about an overbet! Either he's putting a move on me, which I don't see why he would do, or his range is AA, AK, KK. 50% of the time I'm flipping, 50% of the time I'm a 20% dog. With $1.75 in the pot, I'll try again another time.

Final Pot: $7.25
BB wins $7.25

Monday, July 26, 2010

Better to be lucky than good?

I can't understand why I pay off 65/4's each and every time.  I'm just dumbfounded that they can hit smash their hands, I guess.   I dropped about 3 buy ins to this same guy over the course of the following hands and then some (where he just sucks out on me over & over & over again).  This was the worst of it; there were quite a few more where he's literally showing up with any two cards:

PS Maybe there's something to the luck of the Irish, because he was from Ireland.

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/819451
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $50.00
MP1: $116.30
MP2: $50.00
CO: $112.65
Hero (BTN): $50.00
SB: $61.95
BB: $55.45
UTG: $27.35
UTG+1: $20.60

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with As 7h
5 folds, CO calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2.50, SB calls $2.25, 1 fold, CO calls $2

Flop: ($8.00) 8h Ts Ac (3 players)
SB checks, CO bets $0.50, Hero raises to $5, SB folds, CO calls $4.50

Turn: ($18.00) Th (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $10, CO raises to $20, Hero calls $10
I should know better by now...

River: ($58.00) 6d (2 players)
CO bets $19, Hero raises to $22.50 all in, CO calls $3.50

Final Pot: $103.00
CO shows Td Ks (three of a kind, Tens)
Hero shows As 7h (two pair, Aces and Tens)
CO wins $100.00
(Rake: $3.00)

(My personal favorite; PWNED!!!):
Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/819452
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $66.95
CO: $86.65
BTN: $156.70
Hero (SB): $51.75
BB: $54.80
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $59.60
MP1: $43.45

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with 2h 3d
5 folds, BTN calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.25, BB checks

Flop: ($1.50) 3h Kc 2d (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, BTN bets $0.50, Hero raises to $2, BB folds, BTN calls $1.50

Turn: ($5.50) Qd (2 players)
Hero bets $4.50, BTN calls $4.50

River: ($14.50) Td (2 players)
Hero bets $12.50, BTN calls $12.50
Gotta love the call behind on the end; am I ever folding here if he shoves?

Final Pot: $39.50
BTN shows Jc 9c (a straight, King high) - Calls with a backdoor straight and backdoor flush draw.  Turns a gutshot straight...
Hero shows 2h 3d (two pair, Threes and Twos)
BTN wins $37.55
(Rake: $1.95)

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/819458
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP: $62.10
CO: $74.05
BTN: $54.20
SB: $159.00
Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $56.55
UTG+1: $44.55

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with 9d Ts
5 folds, SB calls $0.25, Hero raises to $2, SB calls $1.50

Flop: ($4.00) 5c Ac Td (2 players)
SB bets $1.50, Hero calls $1.50

Turn: ($7.00) 8d (2 players)
SB bets $0.50, Hero raises to $4, SB calls $3.50

River: ($15.00) 4s (2 players)
SB bets $10, Hero calls $10
Again, I should know better...

Final Pot: $35.00
SB shows 4c Tc (two pair, Tens and Fours)
Hero mucks 9d Ts
SB wins $33.25
(Rake: $1.75)

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/819459
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

SB: $18.15
BB: $59.35
UTG: $52.15
UTG+1: $85.05
Hero (UTG+2): $50.00
MP1: $59.80
MP2: $64.45
CO: $20.00
BTN: $4.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+2 with 7d 7h
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2.50, 6 folds, UTG+1 raises to $4.50, Hero calls $2

Flop: ($9.75) 9h 2s 6h (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $5.25, UTG+1 calls $5.25

Turn: ($20.25) Ah (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $2, Hero calls $2
Again, I should know better...

River: ($24.25) Jd (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $10.50, Hero requests TIME, Hero folds

Final Pot: $24.25
UTG+1 wins $23.05
(Rake: $1.20)


Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - http://www.thehandconverter.com/hands/819465
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $21.15
UTG+1: $62.10
UTG+2: $51.40
MP1: $95.25
Hero (MP2): $50.00
CO: $60.90
BTN: $63.70
SB: $15.20
BB: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP2 with 3h 5h
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $1.75, 1 fold, MP1 calls $1.75, Hero calls $1.75, 2 folds, SB calls $1.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($7.50) 3s Qs 5c (4 players)
SB checks, UTG+1 bets $5, MP1 calls $5, Hero raises to $17, SB folds, UTG+1 raises to $60.35 all in, MP1 folds, Hero calls $31.25 all in
Oh, bless their hearts!

Turn: ($109.00) 9c (2 players - 2 are all in)
Safe!

River: ($109.00) 9s (2 players - 2 are all in)
Doh!

Final Pot: $109.00
UTG+1 shows Ad As (two pair, Aces and Nines)
Hero shows 3h 5h (two pair, Nines and Fives)
UTG+1 wins $106.00
(Rake: $3.00)

What would you do? #147 - Facing 1/2 pot bet holding crappy pair

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $18.75
MP2: $90.95
Hero (CO): $50.00
BTN: $57.25 - 15 / 10 / 30% steal / 8.5% 3bet / 1.0 aggression factor @ 132 hands
SB: $46.35
BB: $73.90
UTG: $50.60
UTG+1: $54.80
UTG+2: $17.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with 2s 8s
5 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, BTN requests TIME, BTN raises to $5.50, 2 folds, Hero calls $4
So this guy had been 3betting my steals all night. I knew he couldn't be getting hand every time I steal, so I opt to flat here, with suited cards - this is a fairly easy 2 cards to get away from if I miss.

Flop: ($11.75) 9d 6h 8d (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN requests TIME, BTN checks
Since he has position, I kinda want to manage the pot here - see what he does / how he reacts to a drawing board. This board is *VERY* wet and it hits my 30/22 /62% steal (at this table) range... he likely knows that - and is looking to check down the hand at this point with his likely two overcards.

Turn: ($11.75) 9s (2 players)
Hero bets $7.25, BTN calls $7.25
With the board pairing, he's not likely to have trip 9's or a pocket overpair... If he did, he'd be betting the flop. Therefore, I deduce that I'm ahead. He's not going to give up this easily. I put him on a decent Ace.

River: ($26.25) Jh (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $14, Hero ???


Click to see results


Hero calls $14
I felt like there aren't too many hands that he can really bet with here. The only logical hand I can put him on where he feels good 3betting is a Jx combination. I felt like if he rivered me, which would be typical, GG. Otherwise, there are plenty of 3betting combos I beat.

Moreover, if he did river a weak Jack combo, is he really betting for value? He has no idea where he is in the hand and checking through with his "rivered top pair" would be a logical move from a semi-competent opponent.

We can all agree that he's not showing up with a pocket pair here, right?


Final Pot: $54.25
Hero shows 2s 8s (two pair, Nines and Eights)
BTN shows As Kc (a pair of Nines)
Hero wins $51.55
(Rake: $2.70)

BTN went a little nuts after this hand. He was REALLY PISSED!!!

Edit: I just checked my PTR for the hell of it. I noticed 2 new comments within the last 2 weeks... one from him to the effect of: Luckbox, calls 3bet OOP with 82s blah blah blah. Then I looked him up; he has a lot more hands at 100nl than I, and a lot more hands overall, but has far less overall winnings. He's a "rakeback pro." LOL. Some people never understand...

This is awesome for my metagame. I think this guy is a reg based on his PTR. Next time he sees me, I *KNOW* he's going to go after me. I can't wait!

Friday, July 23, 2010

The effects of food on our gambling nature

I came across an article on Dubner & Levitt's blog, Freakonomics.  It introduced me to a a study on the impacts of food and gambling, called "Metabolic State Alters Economic Decision Making under Risk in Humans."  I thought that readers of this blog may be interested; have a click through the links.  The short of it is:
Immediately after eating, the subjects who were originally risk averse were less risk averse, and vice versa for the less risk averse subjects; they tried to minimize risk-taking.  The behaviors normalized when the study was performed an hour after eating.


Quoted from one of study's summaries, "How hunger affects our financial risk taking": "The researchers said their findings have implications for understanding the behaviour of dieters, the obese and people with eating disorders. 'Prandial ghrelin suppression is reduced in obesity,' [Mkael] Symmonds and his co-authors wrote. 'Thus we predict greater risk-seeking in obese individuals following feeding, augmented by larger immediate post-prandial effects on risk taking due to higher baseline adiposity. This mechanism may underpin a component of the aberrant decision-making seen in obese individuals, including impulsivity and reward-seeking behaviour. We also predict profound effects on decision-making for individuals operating at very low baseline energy reserves [i.e. dieters and people with eating disorders]'"

FYI for those dummies (like me who didn't know): "Ghrelin" is a hormone that increases appetite.  "Prandial" means relating to a meal. 

Double rainbow (song link), what does it mean (original version)?  I interpret it to mean that obese people or people eating while playing (or shortly before) are more likely to take gambling risks.  It also means that you should be aware of playing while you're eating or just before playing.  Give yourself a chance to digest your food.  Some basics rules for playing poker can be adapted from what mom always said about swimming in the pool: don't pee in it and wait an hour after eating to play :-).

What would you do? #146 - Holding TPTK vs. a nit

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $60.95 - 11/7 / 28% steal / 1.6% 3bet / 1.3 aggression factor / 154 hands
CO: $18.75
BTN: $54.55
SB: $35.50
BB: $105.40
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $52.95
Hero (MP1): $97.85

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP1 with Ah Kh
2 folds, Hero requests TIME, Hero raises to $1.75, MP2 calls $1.75, 4 folds
Standard

Flop: ($4.25) 5d Ad 3c (2 players)
Hero bets $3, MP2 calls $3

Turn: ($10.25) 3h (2 players)
Hero bets $5, MP2 calls $5

River: ($20.25) Qh (2 players)
Hero requests TIME, Hero checks, MP2 bets $11, Hero requests TIME, Hero ???


Click to see results


Hero folds
I remember this hand distinctly; as soon as I saw the Queen on the turn, I knew (without even having him bet) exactly what he had. You ever get those feelings? I put him on a very tight range here:

When MP2 calls the flop bet, I put him on one of 3 hands: AQ, 55 and 33. I highly doubt he has a set here, but I feel very strongly that he shows up with a turned two pair. I don't think he's ever calling the flop with a lesser Ace... more so, he's not betting the turn with a lesser Ace. I think he sucked out on the turn.


Final Pot: $20.25
MP2 wins $19.25
(Rake: $1.00)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Guess his hand!

Let's see if you can guess his hand.  MP1 is a player who hasn't raised since the Carter administration!  (For those who don't know, that's all the way back into the late 1970's!)

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $102.35
UTG: $37.05
UTG+1: $50.00
UTG+2: $20.50
MP1: $44.85 - 18/0/ 0% 3bet / 0% steal / 3.0 AF - 448 hands
MP2: $147.05
CO: $50.75
BTN: $71.45
SB: $44.60

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with Jc Kc
3 folds, MP1 raises to $1.50, 4 folds, Hero calls $1
So what does he have?  I give you one guess!

I call with the full knowledge of what I'm dealing with; I could flop many different ways to the winner and I am pretty sure I will get paid.

Flop: ($3.25) 2c 7c 2s (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $2.50, Hero calls $2.50
So I'm 199% certain that he does not have a set.

Turn: ($8.25) 3c (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $2.50, Hero raises to $11, MP1 calls $8.50
Now how to extract maximum moneys for my turned flush.  I don't think he's going to fold my raise here.  I can get away from the hand if an Ace hits.  Correction:  I am ABSOLUTELY getting away from the hand if an Ace hits.

River: ($30.25) Kh (2 players)
Hero bets $14, MP1 calls $14
I got a little scared - I wanted value on the river here, but I am afraid of a rivered boat (perhaps my read is wrong and he has KK).  I still want value because he's always checking through the river given my turn raise.  This is half blocker bet, half value bet.  If he raises, I fold.

Final Pot: $58.25
Hero shows Jc Kc (a flush, King high)
MP1 mucks As Ac
Hero wins $55.35
(Rake: $2.90)

What would you do? #145 - Facing river shove with 3flush holding straight

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $50.00
BTN: $46.00
SB: $61.95 - 46 / 17 / 67% steal / 0% 3bet / 3.2 aggression factor
BB: $44.10
UTG: $59.15
Hero (MP): $57.15

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP with 4h Ad
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, 2 folds, SB calls $1.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($4.00) 5h Jc 2c (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2.75, SB calls $2.75

Turn: ($9.50) 6h (2 players)
SB checks, Hero requests TIME, Hero checks

River: ($9.50) 3c (2 players)
SB bets $4.45, Hero raises to $12, SB raises to $57.45 all in, Hero requests TIME, Hero ???


Click to see results


Hero folds
I feel like "is the villain ever doing this without *AT LEAST* a straight? I think my hand is well concealed, but this guy could be on literally ATC which includes funky XcYc hands. He could also have a 4, but I doubt he's shoving over my river raise with just a straight.

Final Pot: $33.50
SB wins $31.85
(Rake: $1.65)

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The Poker Meister #68 - It's been A LONG WHILE!!!

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $55.50
CO: $78.05
BTN: $52.35 - NIT tight player.  Low 3 bet %.
SB: $52.20
BB: $87.25
UTG: $52.00
UTG+1: $57.10
Hero (MP1): $55.25

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP1 with 9d Jd
2 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, 2 folds, BTN raises to $4.50, 2 folds, Hero calls $2.75
Pretty sure he's only raising an EP raiser with AA, KK, AK, AQ.

Flop: ($9.75) 7d Kd 8s (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $8, Hero calls $8
Not a bad flop!  Given his 3bet, he can easily show up with a set of Kings.  I don't think he's getting away from the hand if I hit my draw, but I don't think I have any fold equity here against his hand, so I draw another card for the $8.

Turn: ($25.75) Th (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $18, Hero raises to $42.75 all in, BTN calls $21.85 all in
Nice!

River: ($105.45) Qh (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $105.45
BTN shows Ac As (a pair of Aces)
Hero shows 9d Jd (a straight, King high)
Hero wins $102.45
(Rake: $3.00)

What would you do? #144 - Facing river pot bet with PP AA

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $50.00 - 9 / 7 / 28% steal / 1.8% 3bet / 1.0 aggression factor / 133 hands
CO: $20.25
BTN: $54.55
SB: $34.75
BB: $35.20 - 44 / 6 / 0% steal / 0% 3bet / 1.6 aggression factor / 48 hands
UTG: $105.40
UTG+1: $51.20
UTG+2: $53.70
Hero (MP1): $74.55

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP1 with As Ah
3 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, MP2 calls $1.75, 3 folds, BB calls $1.25
The BB coming along can only mean one thing: AK or PPs.

Flop: ($5.50) 8d 2h 4s (3 players)
BB checks, Hero requests TIME, Hero bets $2.75, MP2 calls $2.75, BB folds
Yuck MP2 flatting in position.  He's either got 99+ or a flopped set.

Turn: ($11.00) 9d (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $7.50, Hero calls $7.50
Modest-sized turn lead.  I'll peel one more & see if he slows down.

River: ($26.00) Jd (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $26, Hero requests TIME, Hero folds
I've got to be beat here, right?  He's not shown to be an aggressive player.  Easy fold?

I feel like I've seen this dance a million times before: build a pot, build a pot, build a pot.  A 9/7 is overcalling with two ranges: low pocket pairs and AK.  Is AK or a low pocket pair ever value betting with a pot sized bet on the river?  Is a low pocket pair flatting the flop?  There are no obvious draws for a 9/7.  This is a flopped set, where I think I paid $7.50 extra to find out.

Final Pot: $26.00
MP2 wins $24.70
(Rake: $1.30)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Back to back stacks, Jack!

This happened in back to back hands at the same table...  I felt bad [only a little] for the first, but the second...  LOL!

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $56.90
Hero (BTN): $81.05
SB: $50.00 - 2 hands on villain.  I'm usually giving no credit to villains with no history.
BB: $63.30
UTG: $30.00
UTG+1: $52.25
UTG+2: $46.75
MP1: $50.75
MP2: $48.90

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with 7h 7d
3 folds, MP1 calls $0.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $2.50, SB raises to $8, 2 folds, Hero calls $5.50

Flop: ($17.00) 6c 5h 2c (2 players)
SB bets $9, Hero calls $9
I call the flop because I'm still not convinced he has a hand - I'm still putting him on AK or the like.

Turn: ($35.00) 7c (2 players)
SB bets $33 all in, Hero calls $33
Obviously I'm folding here if I don't hit my set.  By his bet, I'm now a believer that he's legit.

River: ($101.00) 2d (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $101.00
Hero shows 7h 7d (a full house, Sevens full of Twos)
SB shows As Ah (two pair, Aces and Twos)
Hero wins $98.00
(Rake: $3.00)


But this hand is inexcusable... (different player, same table):
Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $56.90
Hero (CO): $129.05
BTN: $50.00
SB: $62.80
BB: $30.00
UTG: $52.25
UTG+1: $46.75
UTG+2: $50.25
MP1: $48.90

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with As Ts
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $1.75, 2 folds, Hero calls $1.75, BTN calls $1.75, 2 folds

Flop: ($6.00) 3h Tc Th (3 players)
UTG+2 bets $6, Hero calls $6, BTN folds

Turn: ($18.00) Jd (2 players)
UTG+2 bets $18, Hero raises to $50.40, UTG+2 calls $24.50 all in

River: ($103.00) 9h (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $103.00
Hero shows As Ts (three of a kind, Tens)
UTG+2 shows Ac Ah (two pair, Aces and Tens)
Hero wins $100.00
(Rake: $3.00)

UTG+2 told me "You're not getting any more of my money!" and promptly got up.  LOL!!!

What would you do? #143 - Missed value?

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $50.00
BTN: $22.90
Hero (SB): $60.75
BB: $14.45 - 36 / 21 / 38% steal / 0% 3bet / 6.0 aggression factor / 58 hands
UTG: $80.45
UTG+1: $50.75 - 47 / 33 / 100% steal / 0% 3bet / 15 hands
MP1: $50.00
MP2: $50.80 - 28 / 5 / 18% steal / 0% 3bet / 97 hands

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with Tc 8c
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $1.50, 1 fold, MP2 calls $1.50, 2 folds, Hero calls $1.25, BB calls $1

Flop: ($6.00) 3d Th 4d (4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $3, UTG+1 raises to $6.25, MP2 folds, Hero calls $6.25, BB requests TIME, BB raises to $12.95 all in, UTG+1 calls $6.70, Hero calls $6.70

Turn: ($44.85) Ah (3 players - 1 is all in)
Hero checks, UTG+1 checks
With the Ace falling on the turn, I really don't feel like I'm getting value from smaller hands.  If I bet, I'm essentially turning my hand into a bluff.  I'm way ahead / way behind right now.  Thoughts?  Should I have raised the flop?  I have a fairly weak hand at this point.

River: ($44.85) 5h (3 players - 1 is all in)
Hero checks, UTG+1 checks

Final Pot: $44.85
Hero shows Tc 8c (a pair of Tens)
BB shows 6d 6c (a pair of Sixes)
UTG+1 shows 7h 7d (a pair of Sevens)
Hero wins $42.65
(Rake: $2.20)

Monday, July 19, 2010

Delaware Park trip report from 2010-07-16 visit


After discussing arrangements with my wife, we decided that I would take the day last Friday and play poker.  My standard work schedule is a compressed schedule where every other Friday, I have a day off / 3 day weekend.  I was deciding between the new poker room at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town or the 1-month old Delaware Park Racetrack & Casino poker room.  After careful consideration with a poker friend, we decided on Delaware Park: the house take was a standard rake of 10% up to $4 per hand dealt, +$1 for the bad beat jackpot.  This compared favorably to the stupidity employed at Hollywood Casino, where the charge $6 per half an hour as seat time.  A quick back-of-the-envelope estimation had us counting $120 in rake per hour for the table (10 players * $12/hr) at Hollywood vs. an estimated $100 per hour (~25 hands /hr *~$4 rake per pot) at Delaware Park.  The decision was made even easier when I called and found out that Hollywood Casino's poker room opens at 3pm, and unless we show up at 1pm precisely, would face an immediate waitlist, whereas Delaware Park has call-ahead seating, and would likely be immediate, regardless.

We arrived at 1pm, I was seated within 10 minutes (would have been sooner had it not been for a bathroom break from the hour-and-forty-five minute trek from DC to DP).
(A terrible shot of me in the DP Poker Room - I look googly-eyed...)

At first glance, this room seemed fairly standard for poker rooms that I've experienced, yet when I sat down, I realized that the seats were far more firm and comfortable, the tables quite a bit larger, and the dealers and seating system far more efficient.  All tables are tied to a central computer, where empty seats are immediately displayed to the front desk, and filled by the next person on the wait list.  Although this room was only opened one month ago, it was run extremely effectively, and with excellent dealers.  All of the DP staff was courteous, all of the dealers knew the rules - and when there were questions, they did not hesitate the call the floor for a ruling (an example was a player moving more than two seats to the left would have to post a blind in order to be dealt into the hand).

A picture of the DP poker room

I rate this room as an A.  It reminded me of Las Vegas, in fact.  There were only 2 complaints that I could make, though.  The drink service was awful; sodas and waters were free, but if you wanted anything from a bottle or alcoholic, you had to pay...  $4 for a beer and $7 for a mixed drink.  I believe Red Bulls were $7 as well - this was fairly minor to me, regardless; I don't drink when I play poker, nor do I drink often anyway.  However, I like to see my opponents drink it up - I realize that like drunk driving, drunk people make poor decisions usually.  The second complaint was in line with the first: the comps for food and/or drinks were essentially non-existent.  The 1/2 table rating is $0.20 /hr played!  You read that right: TWENTY CENTS PER HOUR.  Moreover, the poker room is not allowed to give comps for food; we played there from 1pm to 12am and despite asking for a food comp, they are not enabled to give us anything.  To their credit, though, they are supposedly working on changing the comp issue so that players can eat for free.

As far as poker rules are concerned, the DP poker room allows for a Mississippi Straddle, which allows any player at any position to "buy the big blind," in order of priority from the button to UTG.  To a player that is unaware of how this works, essentially a straddle from the CO or BTN gives you last-to-act privilege for every street, while doubling the big blind for limpers.  What a deal- can the BTN get any more advantageous?  I definitely took full advantage of this rule; raising and stealing the limpers blinds when the BTN came to me.  It was easy with less skilled players who were unaware of the strategy behind a straddle.

As far as players are concerned, I'd say I experienced a good mix of completely novice players "donors / luckboxes", players who would slowly be bled by the blinds, "machismo" I'm not folding for no one and no one is bluffing me types, and occasional "live pros" - the type that can't understand why he gets clobbered online but makes a good profit live.  I *DID NOT* see any online pros - familiar with typical betting lines and trying to make moves.  Overall, it was typical live poker as my limited world has experienced - hit a hand, get paid, otherwise play tight PF poker and be patient.

Finally, I leave you with this picture:
Yeah...  I did alright for the session.  (That's not my beer.)

I can easily see that if Hollywood Casino does not change their seat time policies, Delaware Park will become my home for live poker...  it's a shame, too; Charles Town is 45 minutes from my house.  Needless to say, I will be back for more live poker.

P.S. I have 2 semi-interesting hand histories to share with you at a later point.  I have to get them organized and written :-).

What would you do? #142 - Pre flop action galore!

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $50.00
CO: $17.50
BTN: $66.80 - 26 / 24 / 100% steal / 6.3% 3bet / 38 hands
SB: $82.30
BB: $32.45 - 36 / 0 / 0% steal / 0% 3bet / 14 hands
UTG: $55.90 - 8 / 7 / 9% steal / 9.1% 3bet / 104 hands
UTG+1: $50.00 - 0 / 0 / NA / 1 hand
UTG+2: $53.45 - 14 / 10 / 20% steal / 2.8% 3bet / 810 hands

Hero (MP1): $51.85

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is MP1 with Jd Jh
UTG raises to $1.75, UTG+1 calls $1.75, UTG+2 calls $1.75, Hero calls $1.75,
I flat here, a little scared of UTG's raise as an 8/7.  I think I'm "asking" for a squeeze by being the 3rd flatter.
2 folds, BTN raises to $7.50,
Obvious squeeze.  If it folds around, I'm 100% raising.
1 fold, BB raises to $13.25,
This is a scary raise from an unknown.  14 hands of history and a min raise.  WTF do you make of this?  Now I'm concerned about what BTN is planning...  I don't think he can come over the top here, but do I want to be stuck in the middle for very very poor odds with my hand?  There's barely any implied odds here - and chances are that I'm at best a coin flip.  Anyone overshoving?  Thoughts?
3 folds, Hero requests TIME, 2 folds

Final Pot: $22.25
BB wins $22.25

Friday, July 16, 2010

Just an example of my FML poker playing...

So typical...  WTF?!?!?!?!?  Though I have to admit that I got my money in bad 4 times tonight - overpairs vs. flopped sets - only to suckout on the turn or river with a set of my own.  Go me :-).  A little luck never hurts, I guess :-).

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $60.45
CO: $54.95
Hero (BTN): $58.10
SB: $37.35
BB: $63.60
UTG: $19.50
UTG+1: $58.05
UTG+2: $66.50
MP1: $60.35

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with Jh Ah
UTG calls $0.50, 3 folds, MP2 calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $3, SB calls $2.75, 3 folds

Flop: ($7.50) Kd Qh Td (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $5, SB calls $5

Turn: ($17.50) As (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $14, SB calls $14

River: ($45.50) Js (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $36.10 all in, SB calls $15.35 all in

Final Pot: $76.20
Hero shows Jh Ah (a straight, Ace high)
SB shows Ac Kc (a straight, Ace high)
SB wins $36.60
Hero wins $36.60
(Rake: $3.00)

What would you do? #141 - Facing a river "shove" holding a rivered top pair

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (CO): $69.15
BTN: $50.00
SB: $50.00 - 24/4 / 13% steal / 2.0% 3bet / 2.0 aggression factor / 1K hands
BB: $64.05 - 54/3 / 0% steal / 7.4% 3bet / 1.3 aggression factor / 99 hands
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $55.65
UTG+2: $56.35
MP1: $62.90
MP2: $45.35

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with Td Kh
5 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, 1 fold, SB calls $1.25, BB calls $1
A little bit about SB: he's continually shown to be a weak, passive player.  He plays his made hands strong, and weak hands weak.  He's a weak tight reg.

Flop: ($4.50) 5s 8h 2h (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $3.75, SB calls $3.75, BB folds

Turn: ($12.00) Jc (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($12.00) Ks (2 players)
SB bets $7, Hero raises to $14, SB requests TIME, SB raises to $44.75 all in, Hero requests TIME, Hero folds
Bad raise?  Regardless, I can feel very confident I'm not folding the best hand here, right?  There's no way a weak passive player is stacking off with a pair of Jacks or a weaker hand than KT.

Final Pot: $40.00
SB wins $38.00
(Rake: $2.00)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Rise & Fall of Quincy Capers

The latest installment of the series is in!  If you're not already reading it, I highly suggest that you do so - ASAP!  This is a great read by someone who I had not heard of previously, Yakshi.

I highly recommend this blog.  GREAT writing, and a great read.

Becoming less gunshy...

I posted a few days ago that I was really becoming gunshy with PF hand holdings (read the comments section as well)...  After corresponding with Matt Tagomgitsjoshua (my personal poker guru), and HappyPixel via comments, I realized that I'm not nearly as aggro PF as I should be.  I am lagging behind the curve - I fold too easily to a 3bet or raise (or worse, flat OOP) - partially due to the fact that I have run so poorly lately.  This talk, combined with reading Bluff's articles this month which speak about the insanity of changing your play even though you are doing the right things (only being results-oriented because they don't work out) has me realizing that I'm actually changing my play based on results and not statistics.  As poker players, we should strive to be analytical, not results-based.

It's much easier to write this when you're running good rather than bad, so I am writing while coming off of 2 or 3 "run bad" sessions where I've been set-over-setted a number of times (both when AI and I'm far ahead and when I'm far behind, but never when I'm behind and doing the suck out), and sucked out on the river (all in on the turn) with numerous holdings that are far ahead of the villain.  I need to believe what I wrote above... we all do.

Here's what I'm typically doing:
Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $188.05
BB: $43.70
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $169.55
UTG+2: $56.85
MP1: $50.00
MP2: $49.00
CO: $93.85  - 14/12 / 44% steal / 4.8% 3bet / 50% fold to 3bet / 3.3 aggression factor
BTN: $17.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with Ah Kh
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.50, 3 folds, CO raises to $2, 1 fold, Hero raises to $7.50, 2 folds, CO raises to $18.50, Hero calls $11
I don't know if this is an exact example because we're so deep here; nearly 200BBs.  I really question, though, whether I want to shove AKs for what appears to be no better than a coin flip.

Flop: ($38.00) Ac 3c Jh (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $22.50, Hero calls $22.50

Turn: ($83.00) 6c (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: ($83.00) 9s (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Final Pot: $83.00
Hero shows Ah Kh (a pair of Aces)
CO shows Th Kd (Ace King high)
I think other players are picking up on my "weak" PF style and trying to take advantage.  Is he really 4betting my repped 3bet strength?
Hero wins $80.00
(Rake: $3.00)

I leave you with this hand history as proof of chaning my ways asabove:
Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $50.00
BTN: $50.00
Hero (SB): $51.75
BB: $50.00 - 16/11 / 18% steal / 2.4% 3bet @ 281 hands
UTG: $51.50
UTG+1: $29.35
UTG+2: $20.10
MP1: $57.15
MP2: $80.55

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with Qh Qc
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $1, 4 folds, BTN calls $1, Hero raises to $5, BB raises to $15, 2 folds, Hero requests TIME, Hero raises to $51.75 all in, 1 fold

Final Pot: $32.00
Hero wins $32.00

One other thing, so long as I'm not writing a WWYD post...  I took a shot at 100NL last night.  I played ~400 hands, and was largely confident in my play.  I did get decent PF cards, which held up, and hit a couple of sets which I got paid on - and wound up with an okay profit.  I ran a 20/13 with a 6.5% 3bet, which says I'm feeling fairly comfortable there.  Needless to say, this won't be the last time I'll be playing up.

What would you do? #140 - Overpair facing flop check / raise shove

This is another hand from my live session in Atlantic City a few weeks ago:

Background on the LAGDONK - I had seen him *NOT* be able to lay down a pocket pair (at least JJ+) against a very obvious AA PF...  The action went something like he raised to $20, guy holding AA raised to $90 (which was about 25% of effective stacks I believe) and he flats.  Flop comes all under, I think he leads and AA guy raises all in to which LAGDONK instacalls.  Clearly, he's a "play my hand, don't think about anyone else's" type of player.  Moreover, he far overplays the value of each hand he is dealt.  He must've gone through about $800 prior to the hand involving me and appears to be steaming.

I hold JJ in MP2, facing quite a few limpers, so I put in a raise to $16, which gets BB (LAGDONK) and one other to come along.

We see a flop of 4 6 8 rainbow.

The 2 players check to me and I lead out my overpair to the safe flop for $28.  The SB raises me to all-in, effectively $160 remaining.  What would you do?


Click to see results


I think this is a fairly big no-brainer.  Regardless whether I'm holding AA or anything, I'm not giving him credit for an overpair.  I think he's steaming, but I don't think he's stupid enough to check / raise all in on a pretty blank flop with 8x or the like.  I'm befuddled, though, because I can't fathom that he flopped a set and is instantly trying to get it all in.  In the end, I folded, resolving that he has no less than two pair... likely a set trying to get instantly even.  He's not a thinking player; perhaps he views me as playing in the same style as him where he called JJ to another's AA.

He actually showed his flopped set of 6's after I tanked for so long.  I didn't really need to see it though - I knew.

Edit:  Funny, this write up is timely, as Grump ran into a "similar" situation.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

What would you do? #139 - Holding KK, having no idea where I am in the hand

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $52.30
BTN: $73.40
SB: $51.00 - 15 / 12 / 25% steal / 8% 3bet / 2.0 aggression factor @ 74 hands
BB: $39.90 - 29 / 8 / 14% steal / 0% 3bet / 2.5 aggression factor @ 66 hands

Hero (UTG): $51.70
UTG+1: $16.35
UTG+2: $67.90
MP1: $50.75
MP2: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with Kc Ks
Hero calls $0.50, 6 folds, SB calls $0.25, BB checks
Changing it up a bit; I'm looking for CO, who has been raising wide (25/20) to raise for me so I can re-raise and press.  No dice.

Flop: ($1.50) 5c 6s 4s (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $1.50, SB calls $1.50, BB calls $1.50
I think I'm ahead on this draw-heavy flop, but I'm going to be cautious.

Turn: ($6.00) 3c (3 players)
SB bets $5, BB folds, Hero ???


Click to see results


Hero folds
Is there a point in risking a bunch of money when I am up against any two cards?  A 4 straight is out there, flush draws all over the place, and he could very well have 2 pair already.  What do you think?  Too nitty?

Final Pot: $6.00
SB wins $5.70
(Rake: $0.30)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

What would you do? #138 - When to fold AK?

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG: $110.90
UTG+1: $44.30
Hero (UTG+2): $91.80
MP1: $50.00
MP2: $75.65
CO: $17.50
BTN: $49.75 - 19/13 / 32% steal / 4.5% 3bet / 2.8 aggression factor @ 257 hands
SB: $50.00
BB: $50.75

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+2 with Ah Kh
2 folds, Hero raises to $1.75, MP1 calls $1.75, MP2 calls $1.75, 1 fold, BTN raises to $9, 2 folds, Hero requests TIME, Hero calls $7.25, 2 folds
Anyone folding here?  I think this is a viable option; 32% steal does not smack that he's steal-aware, but he's not shy about 3betting, and is somewhat aware of stealing and position.  Plus, to him, I have 24 / 20 stats.  He could be 3betting my range light.  Therefore I see a flop.

Flop: ($22.25) Th Qc 8c (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks
I have to believe that he's betting this flop if he has an overpair or connected with this flop.  There are many broadway hands the connect here in addition to the [less likely] made J9 :-) straight.

Turn: ($22.25) Kc (2 players)
Hero bets $12.50, BTN calls $12.50
I want to get some value while I perceive to be ahead here.

River: ($47.25) Ts (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks
I have no idea where I am in this hand!  I give up.

Final Pot: $47.25
Hero shows Ah Kh (two pair, Kings and Tens)
BTN mucks 2d Jc
Hero wins $44.90
(Rake: $2.35)

Monday, July 12, 2010

Squeeze!

Epic fail:

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+1: $52.80
MP1: $50.75
MP2: $50.75
CO: $78.75 - 7 / 6 / 6% steal / 6.2% 3bet / 181 hands
Hero (BTN): $125.40
SB: $17.00
BB: $20.90
UTG: $58.30 - 43 / 24 / 40% steal / 16.7% 3bet / 51 hands

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with 6c 2c
UTG raises to $1.75, 3 folds, CO calls $1.75, Hero raises to $7.50, 2 folds, UTG raises to $20, 2 folds
This guy has been raising big and wide from all spots.  It feels like he's ripe for a squeeze.  When he comes over the top, either he's reading my squeeze as what it is and knows I can't call his 4bet, or he's got a monster.  With $7.50 committed, I'm going to shut down and pick a better spot where I know I'm ahead.

Final Pot: $17.50
UTG wins $17.50

What would you do? #137 - Facing a ton of action on the turn in a multi-way pot

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $57.90
SB: $58.80 - 15 / 11 / 27% steal / 5.6% 3bet / .9 aggression factor @ 568 hands
Hero (BB): $126.15
UTG: $53.95
UTG+1: $54.40
UTG+2: $96.05
MP1: $14.70 - 56 / 13 / 0% steal / 0% 3bet / .5 aggression factor @ 61 hands
MP2: $50.00 - 24 / 19 / 51% steal / 6.2% 3bet / 2.2 aggression factor @ 370 hands
CO: $50.00 - 20 / 0 / 0% steal / 0% 3bet / NA for everything else @ 10 hands

CO posts a big blind ($0.50)

Pre Flop: ($1.25) Hero is BB with Ad 6d
3 folds, MP1 calls $0.50, MP2 raises to $3, CO calls $2.50, 1 fold, SB calls $2.75, Hero calls $2.50, MP1 calls $2.50
I call because it is very likely MP2 is raising to isolate the limper and / or steal the CO's dead money posted blind.  This is a great multi-way hand.

Flop: ($15.00) Ah 8s 2c (5 players)
SB checks, Hero requests TIME, Hero checks, MP1 checks, MP2 checks, CO checks
I think about a lead here, but given my position, I opt to either check / raise or check / call depending on who is leading the action.  I get nothing though so we see a free turn.

Turn: ($15.00) 9h (5 players)
SB bets $11, Hero ???


Click to see results



Hero folds, MP1 raises to $11.70 all in, MP2 folds, CO folds, SB calls $0.70
Given that SB has a .9 AF, what could he be opening so big with that makes sense in this spot?  Clearly, he's scared of the hearts, but 2/3 pot on the turn?  This smacks of a set or Ace /broadway.  I'm beat.

River: ($38.40) 3c (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $38.40
SB shows 9d 9s (three of a kind, Nines)
MP1 shows 3h Jh (a pair of Threes) - I think this is a very very marginal call for him.  Perhaps he's expecting another call or two behind him to get the correct odds?
SB wins $36.50
(Rake: $1.90)

Friday, July 9, 2010

Full Tilt Bullsh*t

WTF, Full Tilt?  I think it's great that you roll out software updates with frequency.  They're bettering the user experience, making the game more secure, and encouraging more players to join.  Kudos!  I think you're probably the most innovative online site out there.  However, what happened last night?

I [finally] get the kiddies to bed, fire up HEM, TableNinjaFT, and the Full Tilt client.  I wait for an update.  I finally get in, and sit down to 6 tables, using their new table search feature.  I get dealt into my first hand of the night - then poof!  Nothing works.  Kinda pissed; I probably lost my first hand of the night, losing 1BB.  I figure it's my computer, so I shut down the client and restart.  Nothing.  The little Full Tilt splash screen alternates between "connecting..." and "connected..."  Okay; maybe I need a restart of the entire computer.  Same thing.  Maybe my computer's networking has gone haywire.  Try my upstairs computer.  I don't even get an update; simply a cannot connect.  Fire off an email to tech support about how much this sucks.  Look for Full Tilt's online status, which says they're running normal and fine.  The short of it is it took nearly 2 hours for them to update their status to "Down for scheduled maintenance" which is BS!  They were down from 8:00PM until at least after I went to bed at around 12:00AM

Hey Full Tilt: How bout you credit me for the Iron Man day I missed?  How bout you give me an extra day to compete my mid year bonus?  Finally, how bout you credit me the BB I missed because your software / servers locked me out?


Is Full Tilt working now?  If I come home tonight and sit down to play, will I be able to be dealt into a hand?

What would you do? #136 - Facing river shove with middle pair

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $50.75
CO: $17.50
BTN: $49.00 - 28 / 17 / 67% steal / 0% 3bet / 3.5 aggression factor @ 30 hands
SB: $59.55
Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $110.60
UTG+1: $32.20
MP1: $37.55

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with 9c 3c
5 folds, BTN raises to $1.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $5, BTN calls $3.50
Typical spot; this guy has been raising a ton of buttons and COs...

Flop: ($10.25) 4h Ac 4c (2 players)
Hero bets $7, BTN raises to $14, Hero calls $7
Club flush draw.

Turn: ($38.25) 9h (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks
Nice to get a pair to go along with the draw.

River: ($38.25) Jh (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $30 all in, Hero requests TIME, Hero ???
I think your hand is a bluff catcher.  Do you make the call?



Click to see results


Either this player is a very tricky player, or he's a total donkey bluffing in a spot where it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to bluff. I don't think there's any chance he flopped a boat. The reason I call, though, is because of the check on the turn. Referring to my first sentence, a good majority of the players out there are *NEVER* checking back the turn if they have a good- or even decent- Ace. They're betting for value, particularly after raising the flop. I've somewhat established my hand as a draw or weak Ace by my flop call. None his hands are worthy of shoving 60BBs on the river; it is unlikely he turned a set of 9's, and if he hit a Jack, he's looking to get to showdown. It just seems like such a fishy play, I make the call and find he turned his hand into a TOTAL bluff.

Hero calls $30

Final Pot: $98.25
BTN shows 2c 3s (a pair of Fours) -LOL; playing the board!!!
Hero shows 9c 3c (two pair, Nines and Fours)
Hero wins $95.25
(Rake: $3.00)

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Things that I've been doing lately...

I'm constantly trying to improve my game.  I'm always looking for ways to eek out 1 or 2 extra BB/100 hands.  I'm also looking for ways to increase value with made hands.  Prior to the past month or so, though, my game has been bet bet bet.  I've always known this to be exploitable; I wind up winning a bunch of small pots with weaker or no hands, and risk losing larger pots where I've put money at risk to be called down each street (i.e. players are allowing me to value bet myself).  However, overall, I've [obviously] come out ahead with my aggression factor usually something like 3+.

I've taken a long look inward, though.  I've also begun watching a few videos and been thinking about their logic and thought processes.  I rarely, if ever, see a bet bet bet pattern - and I'm 100% sure that while the bet bet bet strategy may work in the 50NL world, players at 100NL and up are more than apt to overcome this style.  100NL players can see through bet bet bet lines and start to call more often for value, realizing that raising folds out my [often] bluffs.

So what have I been doing to change my bet bet bet strategy?  Balancing my aggression by checking more often.  For example, is there really a point, when holding 87s on an Ace high flop, to betting the flop?  Am I ever folding out an Ace?  Yes, I am folding out a lot of non-Ace holdings, but really?  With this method, (even though my opponent may be getting tricky with me which will be duly noted) I can take the pot away on the turn or river when confronted with back-to-back checks; a clear indication of disinterest in the pot.  Plus, my opponent has seen ideally seen me check back top pair on the flop, so he's comfortable folding his non-nut pair hands.  In the same vein, if I'm holding AceRag, am I folding a premium Ace in that same spot?  No.  By checking behind, though, even though I'm letting off a free card that could potentially hurt me, I'm controlling the pot size (not forcing myself into making marginal decisions with marginal holdings on later streets) and also giving my opponent a chance to bluff the pot himself.  If I have a pair of Aces on an Ace high flop, it seems that the best way to get value from that type of hand is checking and calling to induce bluffs.  Raising and betting folds out my opponent's bluff capabilities and makes him/her pretty uncomfortable with their second pair or lesser holdings.

I guess I'm growing as a poker player, because I'm beginning to trust the cards and/or probabilities.  Again, in the past, the bet bet bet strategy worked for me because all I wanted to do was end the hand.  [Although I still get sucked out on] I wanted to take down the pot before someone could suck out on me in a later street.  Now, though, I'll adjust my play appropriately by not betting the flop to induce action on the turn and/or river, which would have otherwise been missed because I muscled my opponent out of the hand on the flop.

All of this isn't to say that I'm not barreling all streets ever, with all holdings from flopped monsters to air, but that type of play is happening far less often, with a far greater balance toward my strength hands.  I have probably put in about 25-30K hands with the balanced aggression method, and it seems to be working (I'm at work so I don't have actual figures to share), but I know I'm winning sessions far more often.

I am still working on finding the time to continue my Back to Basics series... though I have yet to write the next segment.   It's hard to convince myself to find the time because it is EV- for me personally, by and large.  However, it's still on my plate of things to do, for those interested.  I'm working through my mid-year bonus with Full Tilt through their Iron Man program.  I am eligible for $500 in bonus money - of which I've completed $100.  10,000 FTPs in 45 days = 222 FTPs/day - far more than I've been averaging for the past 2 months, but I'm ahead of pace currently: 2087 points completed with 7913 points remaining over 38 days = 213 FTPs/day pace.  With the Rush Week bonus coming up next week, it's nice to coincide/overlap the two and pick up a double bonus.  Finally, the month has been up & down in the early going - never hitting negative, but up about 4 buy ins thus far from a peak of 10 :-(.

What would you do? #135 - River 4flush :-(

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $17.00
MP2: $58.75
CO: $55.25
BTN: $102.45
SB: $21.75 - 29 / 9 / 2.2% 3bet / ~80 hands
BB: $50.00
UTG: $68.55
Hero (UTG+1): $58.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with Ad Kd
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, 4 folds, SB calls $1.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($4.00) 3c Ah Jc (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3, SB calls $3

Turn: ($10.00) Kc (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $6, SB calls $6
Top 2 vs. 3flush board.  I would like for him to come over the top , but he does not oblige...

River: ($22.00) 8c (2 players)
SB bets $11 all in, Hero requests TIME, Hero calls $11
With the 4 flush, he finally shoves.  2 Aces left in the deck; one is the Ac.  WTF?   Am I ever good here?  Should I be saving my $11 with precisely 2:1 odds?


Click to see results


Final Pot: $44.00
SB shows 7c 6c (a flush, King high)
Hero mucks Ad Kd
SB wins $41.80
(Rake: $2.20)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Squeeze!

Compliments to Poker Grump!

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BTN: $45.75
SB: $101.10
Hero (BB): $57.05
UTG: $24.00
UTG+1: $54.45
MP: $50.00
CO: $50.00

CO posts a big blind ($0.50)

Pre Flop: ($1.25) Hero is BB with 2d 4d - Poker Grump's hand!
UTG raises to $1, 2 folds, CO calls $0.50, 1 fold, SB calls $0.75, Hero raises to $5.75, 3 folds
Really?  $1 raises are [heavily weighted towards] weak-as-crap holdings who are trying to look strong by betting weak.  Nice little pickup here.

Final Pot: $4.00
Hero wins $4.00

What would you do? #134 - Facing overbet for value

This will probably go down as one of the stranger plays I've ever gotten involved in...

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $50.00
CO: $0.00
BTN: $38.40
SB: $50.00
BB: $16.75
UTG: $73.75 - 50 / 38 / 100% steal / 2.0 aggression factor / 9 hands
Hero (UTG+1): $51.75
MP1: $53.30

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG+1 with Td Kd
UTG calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, 4 folds, BB checks
I limp because UTG limped.

Flop: ($1.75) Js 8s 2s (4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks
3 flush already on the board.

Turn: ($1.75) Qc (4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $1.20, BB folds, UTG calls $1.20
Turned OESD, but I have to discount 2 outs.  Given the interest in this pot (ZERO), I didn't think I would have a problem taking it down right here and now.  WRONG!

River: ($4.15) Ad (3 players)
UTG bets $72.05 all in, Hero requests TIME, Hero ???


Click to see results


Hero calls $50.05 all in
WTF?!?!?!?  At first, I was thinking "autofold."  In fact, I heavily (obviously) weighted my decision towards that choice.  Really; I have $2 invested; should I be putting in another $48 to "look him up?"
  • I know very little about my opponent
  • He is overbet shoving
  • There are not so many limpable hands that beat me, particularly from a UTG limp perspective.
The only hands I could come up with here were AsQx, AsJx, AsKx or even a set, which I doubt would be played so passively given the flopped 3 flush.   Given his propensity for LAGgy play, I gave him some credit for 2 spades, but I just can't see a $4 -> $72 shove with a made flush.  I also can't see him losing 2 streets of value and shoving the river with the flush.  Therefore, I decide on looking him up and am disappointed [obviously] with the results: 

Final Pot: $104.25
UTG shows Tc Kh (a straight, Ace high)
Hero shows Td Kd (a straight, Ace high)
UTG wins $50.65
Hero wins $50.60
(Rake: $3.00)

I think I busted him or someone else did shortly afterward.  He was not a good player :-).

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Hand of the night - Straight flush!

It's not often where I get paid on a straight flush, but I certainly maximize here:

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 7 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $30.25
UTG: $50.05
UTG+1: $50.00
MP: $49.60
CO: $51.00
Hero (BTN): $52.00
SB: $30.80

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with 4c 5h
4 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, SB calls $1.25, BB calls $1

Flop: ($4.50) 7h 6h 3c (3 players)
SB checks, BB bets $4, Hero calls $4, SB folds

Turn: ($12.50) 9h (2 players)
BB bets $24.75 all in, Hero calls $24.75

River: ($62.00) 8h (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $62.00
BB shows Qh Qc (a flush, Queen high)
Hero shows 4c 5h (a straight flush, Nine high)
Hero wins $59.00
(Rake: $3.00)

Good thing this guy overplays his QQ like I overplayed my KK.

What would you do? #133 - 1 pair hand facing 4 flush on river

Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP2: $17.50
CO: $102.50
Hero (BTN): $50.00 - My steal % to him is ~50%
SB: $68.10 - 11 / 9 / 28% steal / 2.7% 3bet / 6.2 aggression factor / 52% cbet / 511 hands

BB: $34.00
UTG: $50.45
UTG+1: $65.05
MP1: $152.05

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with 8d 9c
5 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, SB calls $1.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($3.50) 5s 3d Ts (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks
Fear a check / raise given his AF.  He has done this in the past in the few spots where I'm caught stealing.  Additionally, there is not much to rep on this board.

Turn: ($3.50) 7s (2 players)
SB bets $2.50, Hero calls $2.50
Turned OESD.  My hand will be fairly well concealed if it hits.  Note that there's a 3flush on the board.

River: ($8.50) 8s (2 players)
SB bets $5.50, Hero ???
I river a pair.  What now?  Does your play change if the 8s is the Js or the 6s (completing the straight draw but putting a 4 flush as well?  Does your play change if the river is a non-spade 8?


Click to see results


Hero raises to $15, SB folds
I think a raise here folds out most TT hands, given the 4 flush.  I also think that the raise folds almost all of the flush hands, excluding Jacks+ (probably).  I can represent a rivered 4 flush myself, given that I raised PF (steal or otherwise, it is credible that I raised with an Ax hand, which may very well be an As).

Ultimately, I want to fold out the full range of his holdings, accepting the fate that he may very well have the nut flush or close to it.  I think he shows up with a premium spade much less often than he shows up with better pairs, lesser spades or hands that my rivered 8's don't beat.  I don't want to take the risk that he has a weak spade, so I push him off of the pot.

Finally, I have played this hand so passively (check -> call) that I can easily have a monster, etc.

Final Pot: $19.50
Hero wins $18.55
(Rake: $0.95)

Monday, July 5, 2010

What would you do? #132 - Facing strong turn / river play holding a "bluff catcher"

This was a takeaway from my 2010-07-03 Atlantic City trip:

A background on the players...  The table was a mix of inexperienced players, local "rocks" and wannabe young douche bags (you know; the sunglasses-wearing, Ed Hardy shirt guys with too many tattoos - sorry if I'm alienating any of my readers, but you know who you are if you are one... and for some reason, they rub me the wrong way).  I call the "rocks," rocks with quotes because by-and-large these players are terrible and only making money from the tourists.

At any rate, there was one particularly good player who I would try to avoid.  For this hand history's purpose, I will refer to him as nanonoko, because he reminded me of Randy Lew.  Clearly an online player who converted, he was positionally aware and selectively aggressive as hell.  Every time I would raise and he had position, he would flat as he would against other players.  He knew full well how to raise, 3bet, cbet air on 2 or more streets, and just generally run over the table which he was doing quite well - he was sitting on approximately $1.2K in chips, easily the big stack at my table.  He was showing bluffs when he got folds and showing down winners when he needed to; a pretty scary overall player - better than my skill level.

On the other hand, I had just gotten to even on my session, sitting on a $375 stack, which was probably good for second largest stack.  He knew that I was an internet player as well - we never discussed stakes, hands or volume, so I believe he assumed me to be a losing single-tabler.  I'm not sure that he saw me as a fish, but I believe he saw me as a level 2 thinker: able to play my hand and put my opponent on a hand.  Lastly, he knew I was able to make a fold with an overpair because I had done so [correctly] in prior hands.

All of that said, facing 2 limpers, I raised to $15 with 9 9 from MP.  My pattern had been $10 + ~$2 per limper.  I was getting decent value by doing so; if nanonoko wasn't involved, I could take the pot with a flop cbet.  Anyway, a particularly bad local rock who had been calling ATC came along for the call as well as nanonoko, from the BTN.  All other players folded and we saw a 3-way flop of:

2 7 4 rainbow

With ~$50 in the pot, I donk led for $15, wanting callers to come along.  (In retrospect, this was a particularly bad bet, giving good odds for any two overs 2 float, but I was not getting a TON of resistance when cbetting without nanoko involved in pots.)  The bad rock flatted, and nanonoko decided to put in a raise to $50.  After careful thought, I flatted, OOP and the rock folded.  We saw a 2 way turn of:

8

I checked to the aggressor who carved out a $60 stack.  Here is the WWYD?  I think that making the call here commits you to making a river crying call regardless, but what would you do?  I don't really have physical reads to give you; I think this hand played very well like an internet hand, and other than the prior description above, you can treat it as such.


Click to see results


There were three factors at play for me:
First, I had seen him show a lot of bluffs, from a similar line of aggression.  The concern he was capable of overcalling with just the type of hands that were on the board; any two garbage.  However, the only "logical" hand combo that I could put him on was 7 4...  Is he really overcalling on the button with 7 2?  I can pretty much rule out overpairs, JJ+; my OOP flat on the flop has to at least draw a bit of concern that maybe I too hit a set.  Of course I felt like this line is clearly repping a flopped set, but he knows that I'm an internet player and can at least put opponents on a hand; would he make it so obvious to me that he has a set?  I would think he would turn or river raise me and keep bad rock in the hand to let him chase his 2 overcards, etc.  I suppose he was off in his estimation of me - as far as I was level 3 thinking, not level 2.

Second, he needs to build a pot if he wants to stack me.  I'm sure he knows this; he's clearly experienced.  He raised to $50 on the flop, which is the beginnings of a pot building.  At this point, there's about $150 in the pot going into the turn.  To bet $60 into $150 is significantly slowing down and not setting up for stacks on the river, because he knows that I'm in check / call down mode.

Third, if you're thinking raise, this is a way ahead way behind situation.  The most value gained here is letting him continue to bluff / value bet.  If I raise, I kill the action because it's going to fold all of his bluffs and value town myself to his monsters.

I'm also thinking about his "logical" hand possibilities: he's not flop raising strong with 8 7; he's folding out bluffs and dominated by overpairs.  I took to the thought of weighted much more heavily towards bluffs and semi bluffs than overpairs, sets and two pair combos.

Therefore, I make the passive check / call.

We saw a river with a pot size of $270:

3

He led for $80 and not tanking nearly as much, I make the call for the first pump win - $430 pot!

For those interested, I made him showdown first; he showed down Q 2, claiming he thought I was on a draw.  So glad his selective aggression value towned himself...

GG nanonoko (his real name was Luke)!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

2010-07-03 Atlantic City session notes

So thanks to the wifey, I was able to play my first significant set of live poker sessions.  As I talked about in an earlier post, she bought me tickets to see Jim Norton at the Borgata in Atlantic City, for my birthday back in May.  As a side effect, we would be in Atlantic City (sans kids thanks to my mother, who stayed at our house for the day and night - Thanks, mom!).  I am no fan of Atlantic City; I think it is by-and-large a dump.  However, it does have "entertainment" for both my wife and me.  She enjoys spending time at the beach and / or pool, in the sun, as well as shopping.  Atlantic City has the outlet mall and plenty of [crappy] beach, along with a surplus of pools.  Therefore, our destination was well-matched, and she absolutely did not mind if I went and played poker for every available waking hour.  As a result, I spent a total of 14.5 hours at the tables; the start of my live poker bankroll.

Before getting into session notes, I want to recommend that all of you go & see Little Jimmy.  It was truly an excellent show; even the opening act [Lenny Marcus] was awesome.  For those of you who haven't heard of Jim Norton, he's an off-color comedian who has a truly deranged way of seeing life.  In my opinion, he's a creative comedic genius.  Due to his F*ed up childhood, he's simply damaged... and funny as hell.  I've been listening to him for years on the Opie and Anthony radio show (on XM / Sirius); they should add his name into the title as he is clearly [at minimum] an equal to O & A.  I was fortunate enough to be at the show Anthony (of the title show's fame) would attend.  I thought it very cool that both Anthony and Jim would hang around after the show to sign autographs and take pictures.  They didn't need to do that; but clearly they're appreciative of their fan base.  Finally, as proof to Jim's comedic genius, I actually caught the wife laughing it up pretty hard at times - and she is *NOT* into raunchy comedy (though I did prepare here ahead of time).

Anyway, back to poker:

My first session, at the Tropicana, started out well enough...  I chipped up to about 175BBs, and was feeling on top of the world.  Clearly, I felt at an advantage to these players.  My table consisted of two players who I considered decent - one of whom would felt me for the full 175BBs, when I overplayed my KK into his AA.  I don't know; I kinda lost my head here - I don't think I would do the same online, but details as far as overall play will be at the bottom of this post as a summary.  The KK vs. AA action, which put me into a 1 buy-in hole went like this:

As I said, $375 effective stacks:
I raise to $15 with approx. 4 limpers.  Folds around to smartie, who insta-raises to $60.  Folds back around to me...  and without thinking (there was a few seconds of thinking actually), I 4bet to $75 on top, for $135 total.  He flats and we see a flop.

6 6 5 rainbow board - and he checks out of turn.  I lead for $100 and he overshoves.  I call and insta-turn over my KK.  He lets the board run out J J before showing his AA.  That miffed me a little bit; he knew he was far ahead and didn't need to let me wait to see that bad news, but whatever - there are schmucks everywhere...

I didn't have any memorable session notes on my second session; I hit 3 made hands and got paid decently on all of them.  I didn't play particularly well or poorly, but I did realize that made hands will get paid nicely in live $1/$2 poker.  No need to trap and / or slow play.  If you don't play fast, they're not going to pay off the river when they miss their draws.  Moreover, they will definitely pay incorrect odds for draws - I saw guys call an all in ($80 into a $30 pot) on a T 9 x board against an obvious set holding QJo... WHAT?  LOL.  I made back all of my earlier day's session losses, which was nice.

My third session was the most interesting; I had two WWYD hands, which I will post in the coming days.  Walking into the session, I was break-even, so it felt good to start anew.  However, at the first table, I ran into a streak where I dusted off a total of one buy in with TPTK twice to the same opponent within a 5 hand set; once to a flopped set and a second to a rivered 4 straight.  UGGG!  I started to re-evaluate my play and determined to stop being a payoff wizard with my TPTK hands to strong action.  Regardless, the end result,  was a success - I ended up positive a half buy-in...  Go me!  My first live poker spree and I'm net positive to kick off my bankroll.

Quick WWYD, which is more of an etiquette thing: I realize that it is *NOT* my responsibility to protect other opponent's cards.  However, is it wrong to purposely look when they're inadvertently showing me?  I mean, come on!  I had a player to my left that would BRING HIS CARDS TO HIS FACE, exposing them for me to see every time I looked to my left.  Just like a tell, I don't believe someone giving free information away should be told he is doing so... it is not my responsibility.  For all of you live players out there: what do you do when presented with this type of golden information?  Are you purposely trying to look away?  For me, it's like looking at cleavage...  I'm kinda shy to take a peak, but I just can't help myself!

Overall session notes:
  • It was a truly wonderful feeling [for the first time] to sit down at a casino poker table, and feel as though I will get my money in ahead and value town most of the players
  • It was nice knowing each player; who was going to be a payoff wizard, and who I should avoid tangoing with.
  • Value bet your made hands.  Don't worry about trapping because they will pay you off on their draws and / or second pairs.
  • Don't be afraid of betting decent money.  To start, I felt like a bet of $40 was heavy and people would become gun shy like I potentially would.  NOT THE CASE!  These people are here to GAMBOL, while I'm here to make educated bets.
  • On the contrary, beware of strong bets.  These players do not know [generally] how to trap their made hands.  All they know is bet bet bet and strong when they have a strong hand.  Besides the occasional bluff, they are betting strong with strong hands and betting weak / checking their weak hands.
  • Although I was confident with my play of the cards and assessing other's cards, I need to become less self-conscious.   I felt like I was giving off a TON of reads, through actions and facial expressions, which I need to work on [if my opponents were even paying attention, which I don't believe they were...] if I want to have a decent live game face.
  • I need to work on taking my time with decisions.  For whatever reason, it seems that live poker puts the pressure on me instantly when it is my turn to act.  I have no problem paying attention, and have a general idea of my move before the action turns to me, but for whatever reason, I feel rushed and have probably made incorrect plays due to that fact.

    I made a poor call for $54 from a shove with bottom pair an open ended straight draw on the turn into a ~$60 pot...  This is a simple math problem; $54 to win $104 is ~ 33% pot odds to make a 24% equity call.  Bad call (and bad result :-( ).
  • I am the chatty Kathy -type that Poker Grump wants to tune out.  I hadn't realized this in my home games (probably because everyone is talking too much), but I'm the talkative guy at the table.  I'm always spawning light conversation.  Although I'm never talking strategy or speculating about a hand, I'm always going on about something inane.  I think it's due to the fact that I'm nervous, and want to keep it light at the table.  Subconsciously, I believe the people are there to have a good time and gamble it up on their 8% turn equity...  why not help them have that good time?
  • Keep my eye on the table; if the Yankee game is on, don't tune out the table because I've folded the hand.  There is valuable information to be picked up when two guys are all in and I have no idea how they got there... as far as tells on when a player has a monster pot, etc.
  • I am totally comfortable with the amount of money being played.  I feel confident that I can sit down at a $2 / $5 table and not concern myself with the money as well.  When I build my live bankroll, I will certainly and unhesitatingly be taking shots at the $2/$5 games.  I can't remember one time over the weekend where I considered a single call, raise or bet equating to a steak dinner, etc.
  • I am totally comfortable stealing blinds and limps (I was afraid I would freeze up when the live pressure was on).
  • I am totally comfortable 3- and 4- betting.  Quick example:

    I was dealt AKo (one of my few premium hands this weekend) in late position (one off the CO), facing 4 limpers.  I raised to $16, as my formula was typically $10 + $2 per limper, which seemed to strongly discourage 5 7s or A3o from calling.  I believe the BTN called and the BB, who had previously splashed around a bit, 3bet me to $40.  It folded around to me, and I 4bet him to $95 where the CO folded and he flatted.  Nice flop of A T T and a check to me.  (I was playing $225 effective stacks).  One move: all in.  He folds and I take it down.
  • I am comfortable cbetting, floating and bluffing.  I was expecting to be scared due to the irregular amount of money in play (i.e. needing to lead $20 on air) to be a scary thing.  It wasn't.  The plays I was making, for the most part worked (unless I was betting INTO one of the 5-6 flopped sets my opponents would have against me.  BOO HOO HOO.
  • There are *FAR* more limpers than I every remembered from prior play experience.  Perhaps this was happenstance, but all of my sessions were met with a high percentage of limpers.  It made for easy times to raise my stronger hands and / or steal from position or limp in and see cheap flops.
  • Live poker players seem to rarely bet "correct" bet amounts.  I saw plenty of overbets which were supposed to be for value.  I saw plenty of players betting too light against would-be draws, providing more-than-correct odds to a player on a flush or straight draw.
  • Finally, I simply CAN NOT WAIT for Charles Town Races and Slots / Hollywood Casino to open their poker room doors.  I am SO GOING TO SOUL CRUSH THERE.  This poker spree started the poker juices flowing...  I am ready for live play!
If you've read this far, don't worry; this blog will not become a live poker blog. I will continue to play online and post HHs, though, both live and online.  

    Friday, July 2, 2010

    Hand of the day - Royal screwup

    It's not very often that I mess up fairly deep-stacked, but I wanted to post this doozy, based on the size of the overall pot.  I royally messed up by overplaying KK.  This could be a WWYD, but I don't even think it's close...  The action clearly favors a flopped set:

    Full Tilt Poker $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players
    The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

    MP2: $56.65
    CO: $87.40 - 16 / 12 / 27% steal / 5.5% 3bet / .9 Aggression Factor @ 683 hands
    Hero (BTN): $125.10
    SB: $61.50
    BB: $54.70
    UTG: $86.55
    UTG+1: $17.50
    UTG+2: $50.00
    MP1: $45.75 - 19 / 0 / 0% 3bet / 0% steal / 1.0 Aggression Factor @ 21 hands

    Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with Kc Ks
    3 folds, MP1 calls $0.50, 1 fold, CO calls $0.50, Hero raises to $3, 2 folds, MP1 calls $2.50, CO calls $2.50
    Nice position, and nice cards :-).

    Flop: ($9.75) 5c 9d 3h (3 players)
    MP1 checks, CO checks, Hero bets $5.75, MP1 raises to $22, CO calls $22, Hero raises to $78.20, MP1 calls $20.75 all in, CO raises to $84.40 all in, Hero calls $6.20
    I really screwed up with my raise here.  What else could there be on such a dry board?  Moreover, who is going to call a strong raise (essentially shove) without a set to this board?  I've been aggro at this table, but not psycho.  I clearly play my hand face up and CO takes full advantage.

    Turn: ($221.30) As (3 players - 2 are all in)

    River: ($221.30) Kd (3 players - 2 are all in)
    But I luckbox my way into a win!

    Final Pot: $221.30
    CO shows 9c 9s (three of a kind, Nines)
    Hero shows Kc Ks (three of a kind, Kings)
    MP1 shows Jc Jd
    Hero wins $83.30
    Hero wins $135.00
    (Rake: $3.00)

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